While wind turbine power has many advantages as an additional and/or alternative source of energy, it does have the drawback that there are time intervals where it is not able to produce any power at all, or only a small amount of power. Thus, there have been various approaches to combine the wind power source with other independent power sources to be able to produce power more reliably, in the form of “firm power”.
A search of the patent literature has disclosed patents related to solving these problems, and these are summarized in the following text.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,204,126 (Diggs) discloses a “Guided Flow Wind Power Machine With Tubular Fans”, which, when powered by the wind, can generate electricity. Also, when there is enough wind power it has the capability of also lifting “massive weights” hydraulically. Then when the wind has subsided, the weights can be permitted to be drop downwardly to supply energy to drive a generator. FIGS. 4 and 5 show the weights 114 through 120 arranged in quadrants.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,740,677 (Vestesen) shows a system which is adapted for use at a location where there is a need for electricity and also fresh water. However, this residential community is also near a source of salt water. There is a wind diesel plant which supplies electricity for various uses and also operates a distillation unit to supply the fresh water. The wind/diesel plant comprises at least an internal combustion engine, a wind turbine, a distillation unit, a first closed fluid circuit containing heating and cooling devices, and a second open fluid circuit.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,127,739 (Appa) issued Oct. 3, 2000, and is the first of three patents which have the same inventor. In this patent, there is a forward front rotor 12 having blades that would cause rotation in one direction, then there is a rear rotor 21 (called a “leeward rotor 21”) positioned behind the front rotor 12 and rotating in the opposite direction. This patent states that the various items added to this apparatus would produce a substantially higher “value of energy efficiency factor”.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,278,197 (Appa) is the second patent to the inventor and it discloses a wind turbine where there is a forward set of turbine blades which rotate in one direction, and a second set of turbine blades which are in the wake of the first set and which rotate in the opposite direction. The reason given for this is that there is still energy in the air that passes through the first set of turbine blades, and this is utilized in the second set of turbine blades.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,492,743 B1 (Appa) is the third (and more recent) patent to Mr. Appa, and this also shows a basic configuration of wind turbine where there are forward and rear sets of blades. There is a heat exchanger having a centrifugal fan to circulate ambient air to cool an alternator in the apparatus, and the hot air is directed to a combustion chamber by means of an air duct in the blades. Natural gas or liquid is also conveyed to the rotating frame. When wind speed is low, fuel will be injected into the combustion chamber and burned with a large mass of air. The hot gasses expand in an exit nozzle to provide thrust to assist wind power.